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When your arse accidentally dials the emergency number
26.6.2023
Translation: machine translated
A worldwide phenomenon is blocking important resources of emergency control centres. So-called pocket calls have led to a record number of accidental emergency calls in recent weeks due to an Android function.
Butt-dials or pocket calls: You've probably already received one of these unintentional calls or made one yourself by mistake. In recent weeks, these have become more common at emergency call centres, particularly in the UK and Germany.
"We have been observing this phenomenon increasingly for a week now," said the spokesperson for the Berlin fire service, Thomas Kirstein. Around 30 to 40 per cent of the approximately 3,000 emergency calls a day are apparently unintentional - in other words, around 900 to 1,200. "On the night of the storm alone, every third call was a pocket call," Kirstein continued. The BBC also reported record-breaking call numbers to the emergency centres.
Such cases are particularly precarious, as it is not immediately apparent to the employees in the relevant emergency call centres that the call is a false call. They cannot simply end the call. They first have to make sure from the sounds that it is an unintentional call and not a real accident.
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Cause of the problem
Android mobiles, especially from the Samsung and Google brands, are apparently responsible for this phenomenon. The last update from autumn 2022 to Android 13 included changes to the emergency call triggering. If the power button is pressed five times, the emergency call is automatically dialled. According to the Berlin fire brigade, there are clear indications that the many unintentional pocket calls are related to the update. Google has since confirmed to Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) on request that the articles about the connection between the accidental emergency calls and the 5-button emergency call function are known.
The fire brigade and Google are now advising users to regularly check for updates so that the problem can be resolved quickly. Samsung has also responded and published instructions on how users can manually switch off this emergency function on their Galaxy smartphone.
Automatic emergency calls on the iPhone too
The iPhone also has a function that has recently triggered several faulty emergency calls. For example, the local police near Nashville in the US state of Tennessee complained about countless emergency calls. The reason: a crowd celebrating in a mosh pit at a festival.
The mobile phone owners' iPhones interpreted the wild dancing, jumping and pogoing not just as footsteps, but as a kind of impact and accordingly sent an emergency call to the local authorities. Since the iPhone 14, the Apple Watch Series 8, the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Ultra, this so-called accident detection has been available. It is actually designed to recognise serious car accidents and make an automatic call from the accident victim's smartphone in this emergency situation. Apple writes: "If your iPhone detects a serious car accident, it will display a notice and automatically initiate an emergency call if you don't cancel the process within 20 seconds."
Apple has since made several algorithm adjustments to minimise these false alerts. However, the system can still trigger a warning signal for various activities or sports such as skiing.
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